Liz Tigelaar is taking her Best Day Ever Productions banner to Paramount TV Studios and CBS Studios in the first-ever joint overall deal between the newly sibling’d studios.
An Emmy and WGA-nominated writer, producer and creator, Tigelaar most recently spearheaded the Hulu miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things. The limited series, based on the book of the same name by Cheryl Strayed, earned star Kathryn Hahn an Emmy nomination. Tigelaar also served as executive producer on another recent Hulu entry, Under the Bridge.
“Having Liz join us at PTVS and CBS Studios for her next chapter feels like both a homecoming and a new beginning,” CBS Studios president David Stapf and Paramount TV Studios president Matt Thunell said in a joint statement issued late Monday. “She is an extraordinary creative force with a unique voice that blends emotional truth, humor and humanity in a way that resonates deeply with audiences. We are eager, along with our teams, to collaborate with Liz once again as she continues to create and build worlds that reflect her bold storytelling and heart.”
Multiple studios were angling to get in business with Tigelaar as her most recent pact with 20th Television (originally with ABC Signature) came to a close. And it’s a reunion of sorts, as Tigelaar previously had an overall at CBS Studios in 2010. She starts with the Paramount Skydance-owned studios in February and brings with her Best Day Ever Productions’ vice president of development, Abby Chambers. The pair will work closely with PTVS’s Thunell and Shelley Zimmerman and CBS Studios’ Stapf and Bryan Seabury to develop projects for streaming and linear platforms.
“I am so thrilled to join not one but two incredible studios, each prolific at developing hit television,” said Tigelaar. My history with this team runs deep; my admiration runs even deeper. Shelley brought me my first book adaptation, igniting what would become a passion. David wholeheartedly championed my first (and second) pilot. Bryan was the studio executive in the trenches with me on my first show that went to series, Life Unexpected. And I have been so eager to work with Matt — a strategic leader and creative force. Together, we have a shared vision which will allow me to pursue my love of adaptations, while dreaming up new, impactful stories with heart and humor.”
Among Tigelaar’s many credits is Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu), for which she served as creator, showrunner and executive producer. She also served as showrunner on Casual (again, Hulu), created and showran Life Unexpected (The CW) and wrote and produced such series as ABC’s What About Brian, Dirty Sexy Money, Brothers and Sisters, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Nashville and The Astronaut Wives Club, as well as A&E’s Bates Motel. In features, she’s completed the script for Netflix’s still-developing adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
Tigelaar is represented by UTA and Wendy Kirk at Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
